Last night, for my time with the humble CotW, I pretended I have two kids who require child safety seats (instead of one) to see how our 2009 Jetta could handle it, say, if I were a parent of two who was trying to get by with a smaller, fun-to-drive, fuel efficient sedan instead of opting for a more traditional mid- or full-size family sedan or a crossover.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com
With the convertible car seats we happen to have in our possession (a ginormous Recaro Como and a midsize Evenflo Triumph 5), I had to mount both of them in the outboard seats, as neither one fit rear-facing in the center position; they were just too big and wide. An infant car seat would probably fit in the center position with the Evenflo. I'm doubtful it would work with the Recaro.
Both worked great forward-facing, as you'd expect, with lots of room for my 3-year-old to stretch her feet, especially for a car of this size. LATCH points were easy to access, with no covers to negotiate. Top tether anchors are also easy to find and use, plus they're a nice-looking brushed aluminum finish.
I turned the Evenflo around to try it rear-facing and was pleasantly surprised by how much room I still had as the driver sitting in front of it. At 5'8", I was able to find a comfortable driving position, though, like Mr. Jacquot, I do prefer a fairly upright seating angle.
Overall, I'd say the 2009 Jetta TDI would be a good choice for a small family who prefers a smaller sedan and wants everything else the Jetta has to offer.
gharry says:
12:35 PM, 05/22/09
Finally, some common sense. Our two child family has always relied on sedans (Mazda6 and Hyundai Elantra) and have never felt the need to have 3 rows or 12 inches of ground clearance. Our road trips have been no exception.
firstwagon says:
12:51 PM, 05/22/09
You can get by with a small sedan. I have a Legacy and it transports my 2 kids in their boosters fine.
The trouble happens when you need to carry an extra person (which happens more and more as the kids get friends).
The Legacy (and the Jetta) are too narrow to put a 3rd person in the back seat when you use child seats.
That's why I see so many Mazda5 vans at my kids school these days. It's small enough to be practical but has the handy 3rd row seat to pop up when you need it.
VW should build some like that on the Jetta platform (they likely already do in Europe).
adavis2493 says:
01:48 PM, 05/22/09
Motherproof.com claims that the Audi S5 is somewhat good for carrying kids due to the latch connectors in the back.
Just throwin that out there....
mikeolan says:
02:10 PM, 05/22/09
@gharry : What about carpooling? If you're taking the kids out to soccer practice or have a birthday party, you'd better hope your kid is the socially awkward one with no friends. We carpooled to school each morning with 5 other kids in our SUV.
For around town, it might be fine- Volkswagen at least provides rear A/C vents (as a kid, the lack of this made me sick in SO many cars. I wouldn't want to ride in the back seat for more than an hour.
gharry says:
07:04 AM, 05/23/09
@mikeolan: carpooling is awesome. My point is merely that too many people think they need acres of space for their one or two children.
hondacura4 says:
02:21 PM, 05/25/09
I'm still kinda of unsure about VW's interior durability. I recently went with my brother to take his 335i in for scheduled service (BMW/VW/Honda dealer) and the dealer had a 07 Jetta GLI that had the panel peeling around the shifter. Keep in mind the car had just over 30K miles and the surface was about as large as a nickel. Thats unacceptable for any car these days especially from a brand with a high perception of build/material quality.